


Vigil

by H0locene



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Coma, F/F, Light Angst, Major Character Injury, lin taking care of kya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27725945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H0locene/pseuds/H0locene
Summary: Prompt: "You didn't put on your deodorant/perfume/cologne. You don't smell like you."
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 31
Kudos: 115





	Vigil

**Author's Note:**

  * For [toastweasel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/toastweasel/gifts).



> Thank you to @toastweasel for the prompt. It was supposed to be fluffy but it did not work out that way whoops

Lin combs through and braids what’s left of her hair. One of the nurses had cut away the sections matted with blood a few days ago. They’d washed and pinned it back, but it wasn’t the way Kya would like it. It’s short, now. Would barely brush the tops of Kya’s shoulders if she were standing.

Kya would hate it.  _ Will _ hate it.

She puts a dollop of toothpaste on a brush and gently takes her girlfriend’s chin in hand, opening her jaw and firmly running the brush against her teeth. 

“Your mom lands today.”

The room is silent, save for the sounds of brushing and Kya’s laboured breathing. It breaks Lin’s heart, but dares to fill her with hope. Breathing means she still has a chance.

It’s been six days since she last saw her lover’s eyes, drank in her smile, heard her voice. Six days since the explosion that upended Lin’s world.

Kya shouldn’t even have been there; should’ve been out at Air Temple Island. If only she had, if only she’d arrived even three minutes later...

But Kya had ‘missed’ the last boat. Even after all this time, they had been too wrapped up in each other to let go, even for a night.

Too eager to throw themselves into danger, to protect others, even at their own expense.

Lin knows she’d have done the exact same thing.

That doesn’t dull her pain.

Lin squeezes a small amount of moisturiser from the bottle. She takes a moment to inhale the scent before spreading it across both her palms and beginning to apply it to Kya’s face. It smells like quiet mornings, with Kya humming along to a song stuck in her head as the two women dance around each other easily, preparing for the day ahead.

“She’s bringing spirit water. Hopefully that’ll help bring you round. They’re not sure if they want to take you back to the South Pole. But don’t worry, my love, I’ll be there if they do. Spirits know I have the vacation time.”

Lin sighs, rubs the residual cream into her own hands, and begins to carefully fluff the pillows underneath Kya’s head.

“Bumi  _ hugged _ me,” she grumbles. “It wasn’t... entirely unwelcome. He hugs like you. Like your parents.”

Lin pauses for a moment, a small smile dancing on her mouth as she recalls the hugs Uncle Aang would give her when she needed comfort. Remembers the kiss he’d place on her forehead and the murmured assurance that everything would turn out okay in the end.

She wishes he were here now.

“Tenzin was awkward, of course, but Bumi was unsurprised. I told you he knew,” Lin huffs a laugh. “He’s always been able to read you like a book. You owe me 50 yuan.”

Bumi, the older brother she’d never wanted, the dear friend who never let her disappear from his life; the man who kicked his little brother’s ass for the things he put her through, who would roll into town and try (and fail) to drink her under the table.

His knowing smile, his twinkling eyes (so like Aang’s), his somber tone as he gazed at Kya and told her he’d like to hear the story when she was back with them.

Lin refuses to tell him. Not because she doesn’t want to, but because he’s right - he should hear it from Kya.

She bends down, and scoops up the bottle of Kya’s favourite perfume. She applies a little to her neck, and to the pulse points on her wrists. It’s not the cloud that Kya prefers to walk through, but the scent hangs heavily in the room.

It puts Lin at ease, just slightly, to know that her girlfriend no longer smells like a deathbed. If it weren’t for her pale pallor, her slightly too cool skin, it might appear that Kya was just taking a nap.

She knows that Kya hates for her mother and her brothers to see her weak. Never wishes to worry them with her wellbeing.

They should be arriving any moment now.

Lin presses the lid onto the perfume and sets it back in her bag. She gently takes Kya’s hand in hers, and begins to hum. Kya’s always hated the silence.

Lin’s beginning to understand why.


End file.
